The Hearing Protection Act is a big, big deal as it would make suppressors cheaper and easier to purchase by removing them from the National Firearms Act (NFA).

Under current law, if one wants a gun muffler they have to wade through a bunch of NFA red tape (registration, photographs & fingerprints, CLEO sign-off), which includes paying a transfer tax of $200, and wait months before receiving their can.

If HPA is approved, the purchasing process would be entirely streamlined and would be analogous to purchasing a firearm from an FFL or gun shop dealer. There would be no NFA paperwork to deal with, no transfer tax, no lengthy waiting period. Instead, all one would need to do is pass a FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check. Easy-peasy.

Sadly, though, this would only be the case for the 42 states that have legalized suppressors. For citizens living in California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia, where suppressors have been explicitly outlawed, well, you’d be out of luck.

“I’ve enjoyed the shooting sports since I was a young child – beginning with plinking with a .22 rifle and dove hunting with my dad,” said Rep. Duncan in a press release. “My hearing has been damaged because of gun noise. Had I had access to a suppressor, it may have protected me, as well as millions of other Americans, from this sort of hearing loss.”

“This is a health issue even recognized in Europe,” continued Duncan. “It just doesn’t make any sense to regulate suppressors the way we do presently. I think it certainly is questionable from a constitutional standpoint. It’s striking that even Britain, which has some of the strictest gun laws in the world, has no restrictions on suppressors.”

The bill enjoys bipartisan support and has 43 original cosponsors. It’s also supported by various gun-rights organizations and groups, including the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, and the National Rifle Association.

“Many gun owners and sportsmen suffer severe hearing loss after years of shooting, and yet the tool necessary to reduce such loss is onerously regulated and taxed. It doesn’t make any sense,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director, NRA-ILA. “The Duncan-Carter Hearing Protection Act would allow people easier access to suppressors, which would help them to better protect their hearing.”

Naturally, anti-gunners vehemently oppose the measure. They believe it would make it easier for criminals and potential mass shooters to perpetrate attacks.

“They want the general public to think it’s about hearing aids or something,” Kristen Rand, the legislative director of the Violence Policy Center, told The Washington Post. “It’s both a silly and smart way to do it, I guess. But when the general public finds out what’s really happening, there will be outrage.”

Of course, that raises the question of “outraged” over what? As the NSSF notes, “Suppressed firearms are clearly not the choice of criminals. The fears and concerns about suppressor ownership and use are unfounded and have not been seen in the over 100-year history of suppressors.”

Plus, and it’s worth circling back to this point, they’re legal to use in many countries in Europe! If it’s not even an issue for our neighbors across the pond who have notoriously stringent gun laws, then why aren’t suppressors already a mainstream accessory here in the U.S.?

The fact that they’re so heavily regulated makes zero sense. And judging by comments made by Donald Trump Jr., the son of our soon-to-be president, he gets it.

“It’s about safety,” said in a September video (see below) interview with Joshua Waldron, the founder of SilencerCo. “It’s a health issue, frankly.”

We’ll keep an eye on the HPA. Keep in mind that this is one of several pro-gun bills that have been launched in recent weeks. Two other bills to keep and eye on are the “Safe Students Act” (H.R. 34), a bill that would repeal the Gun-Free School Zones Act (GFSZA) of 1990 and the “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017.”

Looking at all the comments above, California has come into play many times. This is the most Liberal State in the Nation with the largest amount of Illegals and a state government that is more corrupt then N.Y. or IL. America would be much better off Morally and Financially If They could/would succeed from the United States. Then if The Rino’s like McCain and a few others such as Pelosi and Weinstien would retire, Just Maybe we could get some decent laws changed to more enable us to have better Gun Rights. Come on to TENNESSEE and you will see a Large amount of the Population that Carry firearms, with most of Law enforcement agreeing that it makes their jobs easier. Our State is one of the lowest in crime and The 2nd Amendment is one of the reasons. WE also Stand for the American Flag and most of us display The Confederate flag when Necessary.

Correct me if I am wrong, but when I read a synopsis of this law last year it specifically said there was language in the law that would prohibit the States from not abiding by this law.
In other words, even neo-communist controlled Californicate and Pew York would have to legalize suppressors for their citizens.

I could see them asking for some type of restrictions for non-licensed suppressors, like caliber specific and reducing noise only to a specific level (enough to protect hearing, but still load enough not to be any kind of threat to anyone). I can actually see manufacturers making cheaper models voluntarily that only reduce to levels that don’t damage hearing — that would make them cheaper to manufacture and more affordable for mass marketing.

For the same reason we have to get a NICS check whenever we buy a new muffler for our vehicles. You wouldn’t want people to be able to sneak up on you in their Ford, would you? At least not without a federal background check. Or…um…something like that.

The Dems won’t let it pass…we all know that.
I would be OK with all the red tape…but without the $200 tax stamp and 8-9 MONTH wait.
Or maybe a one-time fee or limited time purchase period…like 2-5 years… . Once you get the OK then you can buy what you want with no waiting period. No resales.Personal use only.
Should be NO restrictions…but might have to give a little to get a little.

The (Un)Affordable Care Act passed with a simple majority due to the Senate changing the rules and requiring only a majority vote to pass bills that were budget related (Reconciliation Rule). Up until Harry Reid and the Dems changed the rules, you needed 60 votes. Interestingly, the Dems (according to Chuck Schumer) regret the decision now that the Republicans control both the House and Senate and have the Whitehouse.

I would imagine that unless this bill uses the same legislative acrobatics that they used for the Obummercare, the reconcilation rule/simple majority vote would not be available for it.

“The (Un)Affordable Care Act passed with a simple majority due to the Senate changing the rules and requiring only a majority vote to pass bills that were budget related (Reconciliation Rule).”

That is incorrect. The ACA was passed in 2010 when the DemonRats had a super-majority of 60 votes in the Senate. All 40 Repubs voted against it.
Reid/DemonRats changed from 60 votes to simple majority about 3 years ago to deny Repubs the filibuster so Obama judicial and executive appointments would only need 51 votes to pass.

Now the DemonRats are reaping the whirlwind. Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it?

Does Federal law not supercede state law. For example, if the DEA chose, they could raid any marijuana growing /selling operation they want in any state despite state laws permitting it. Why would the same not be true of suppressors? If they are legally at the federal law level how could a state hope to impose a law that contradicted the federal statute at trial?

In this case it might supersede state law, depending on whether or not it’s considered part of a firearm. Of course you don’t really need a silencer if you don’t have a gun so it’s pretty obvious it IS part of a gun. The tenth amendment reads:
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
The 2nd amendment SHOULD supersede that because the wording of the 2nd is absolute. NO state should be allowed to make laws regarding firearms if the 2nd amendment was actually enforced.
Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
There aren’t any exceptions in that last phrase. No “except by states” or “except by counties” or “except by cities”. There are also no “as long as…” in that phrase such as “as long as you get a permit” or “as long as it’s on the approved list” or “as long as it’s only capable of X number of shots” or “as long as it doesn’t have a silencer” or any number of other unconstitutional restrictions put in place by the various government bodies. They are all unconstitutional.

Correct me if I am wrong, but when I read a synopsis of this law last year it specifically said there was language in the law that would prohibit the States from not abiding by this law.
In other words, even neo-communist controlled Californicate and Pew York would have to legalize suppressors for their citizens.

Arcane? Before you use a word on the internet that you don’t really know the meaning of, perhaps you should look it up. Or maybe you don’t realize that suppressors are big business right now. There is nothing arcane about them.

I guess you’ve never lived under a Constitutional wasteland like Kalifornia. We’ve been waiting to join the rest of the states for quite some time. Any time the nation adopts something rational, I just look at it and sigh because I know we are essentially a rogue nation with no hope in sight — can’t vote ’em out because a third of the state is illegals, more or less, and dependent on the gubment. No conservative movement wants to touch us, and the NRA has abandoned us.

I lived there for six and a half years working on contract to a car importer, I just learned to called Kalifornia the land of FRUITS, NUTS and FLAKES end of story. There are more of them voting (not to mention all the ILLEGALS) then normal real people so they get but down and saddled with all the San Fran BULL that gets shoveled at them. Eat it or leave is the only alternate. You will not sway a POTHEAD DRUGGIE!!

I have a suppressor and it was a joke of all the hoops that I had to jump through to get it, but I did. I do not see this process any different than purchasing a firearm from a FFL Dealer where they make the phone call to get the order to PROCEED on the purchase I am hoping this legislation will attract a lot of attention and continue moving forward as it is a useful tool in reducing decibels and recoil.

The only things in the nfa where a argument could remotely be made for keeping is machine guns and disguised firearms.
It shouldn’t matter to the government how short the barrel is or whether it’s quiet or not. Truth be told it’d be nice to have full auto.we could call it the ammunition factory jobs stimulus plan.

I believe the HPA has a good chance of passing due to how hard that the mainstream rags are pushing bad information and fear mongering about the basis of the act. I read a local op-ed here in my town where the editor talked about “high powered subsonic rounds” (.22 caliber, by the way) and that they come in an “even deadlier long rifle variant” (God no!) apparently everyone will turn into assassins and go around shooting people in the dead of night and throw the world into eternal sexiness (well, maybe not that) if you will believe them.

As far as bipartisan support – it is only two Democrats, one from Utah and I forget where the other was from, what the bill does have is strong co-sponsors besides Carter and Duncan, just like it did the last time. The little known fact of why it failed (it didn’t “fail” it just never made it out of subcommittee) was because they also jammed up AWB-2015 in the subcommittees to avoid it getting signed by Prez Obama (which it would have). With majorities, and a Republican in office, this should not have a hard time.

I would not hold my breath, just because between the infrastructure bills, ACA repeal, ACA replacement and a few other bipartisan budgetary bills being pushed, there is a lot of congressional bandwidth being burned. I would really like to see the carry reciprocity pass, it just makes my life easier when I travel.

I have a feeling right after the HPA passes that dealers will be jacking up the prices of cans until the supply can catch up, if you don’t have a buddy that has a SOT and deals in suppressors, or if you do not have the means to make one yourself on a lathe, to give it a wait to avoid being shafted.

I would like to see this act pass just for the sake that suppressors were orginally regulated in 1934 to avoid poaching during the Great Depression – even back then with all the Mafia and gang violence, lawmakers knew it was dudes in suits with automatic weapons, not Maxim-silenced weapons, going around killing people. On a few deployments with 7th Group and SOCSOUTH I had a suppressor on my (stupid POS) Mk18, even with a can a supersonic (especially so for SBRs) round is still loud as hell and still jacked up my hearing, suppressors aren’t the antidote, you still have to wear muffs, but what the hell did I know back then I thought it was Call of Duty!

The other good thing is that means XM177 boosters will be deregulated so I can make a true-to-form clone versus putting a KV linear comp on flash can on it lol.

Obama did away with the CLIO requirement ! ATF wait time is 8 months to a year ! How long does it take to get a NIC check and type in the new owners NAME – TYPE- CALIBER -BARREL- OVER ALL LENGTH-SERIAL NUMBER ! YET THEY HAVE
TIME FOR 70+ AGENTS TO VISIT FPS Russia ! Finding nothing wrong ! There was talk of confiscating his guns saying no one should be allowed to own them !

My hearing loss and tinnitus first showed itself while serving in Vietnam and I believe many who have served in the military have experienced similar hearing loss. Each of us would readily testify to the harmful effects that exposure to unmuffled gun fire can have on one’s ability to hear.

I agree with everything you posted in your remarks ! Suppressors could be available or should be issued for our military & purchased by civilians as well for the same reasons. Wearing ear muffs or ear plugs in the military is Not a good idea in a fire fight & you don’t stand in a straight line like the firing line on the range. Even using electronic ear muff doesn’t work because you could never hear when they block all the gun fire sounds. I’ve been on battalion quals where 50 people at a time are firing in very close proximity with each other. To say it’s Loud would be an understatement.

Mike,
I’m not speaking from personal experience and I hope someone with first hand knowledge will chime in but I’ve seen quite a number of YouTube reviews that cite accuracy improvement with the use of a suppressor. Yes, I was quite surprised to hear that, too! I’m certain that this would not be improvement across the board regarding all weapon and ammunition types but I’ve heard it often enough to want to try a suppressor on my AR.

Another benefit of this act would be the creation of market for used-suppressors, which would be good for entry-level buyers, budget-conscious owners, etc. As it currently stands, virtually no such market exists because that stupid $200 tax stamp cuts into any profit margin, and gun stores are unwilling to buy used suppressors for that exact reason (they need $200 to buy it from you, then tack that on + $200 more to resell it). Theoretically, a market for used suppressors might also force manufacturers to bring down costs on new products in order to stay competitive. Nothing but good news if this act gets passed

The next hundred and seven days will be telling, whether we enter an era of common sense or sink back into the morass of libtardism, cronyism, and the idiotic political (correctness) idiocy. Include in your prayers the wisdom for our political class to do the right thing(s)

It should not be their option. Laws restricting Class III restrictions are a violation of the 2nd Amendment and are therefor unconstitutional and illegal whether they are passed by the states or federal government. States do not have the right to pass laws that violate the Constitution..

The US Supreme Court has ruled and clarified that the states have the right to regulate firearms and their ownership so far as it does not explicitly deny the constitutional 5th amendment right to bear arms, generally, except for convicted felons and in the case of domestic violence.